Comments on: Helping Parents Cope with Damage to their Retirement Nest Egg

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:30:08 +0000

With my Dad now having to retire from old age, it is just my Mom working with one income coming in. My advice for children with parents is to make sure they have a IRA for retirement. I insisted for years to Mom to get one and she finally listened.

Now, I just have to convince her to transfer to money market funds when the next stock market crashes.

By: RateNerd

RateNerd — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:19:14 +0000

I had to help my parents out financially which was weird and uncomfortable, but it had to be done. It is important to get them in a good place fiscally, especially if you think they may need health assistance later as well.

By: Monevator

Monevator — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:29:40 +0000

It’s tough if you’re under-50 to get into a parental mindset. I had a big discussion with my worried parents about their savings recently, and it became clear the only place they should put money they have coming from a maturing policy was in 100% secure Government-backed savings or investments.

They are completely caught up in risk right now, and they don’t care about growth at all (with inflation tending towards 0% they might be right there, in the short term).

By: dong

dong — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 23:46:34 +0000

I took over my parents retirement portfolio last year. I trimmed their exposure, but my parents have still lost quite a bit money.

As I see it, it’s the responsibility of both my brother and I to help take care of them now. They’ve always lived frugally, and provided for us when we needed it. I want them to enjoy their retirement and more than happy to provide now that I have the chance. I think kids owe their parents something if they’ve had a undue financial setback.

By: Fit Wallet

Fit Wallet — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:02:35 +0000

I was just talking to my brother about my parents’ financial position. I have no idea how much they lost, but I assume quite a lot. My father is still working as a consultant, but he officially retired from his job about a year and a half ago. My parents are in their early 60s, so they are very vulnerable to the market conditions right now. But looking at my mom’s spending habits and aspirations, you’d have no idea dad retired. My brother and I are worried that her spending habits and desire for a bigger, better house (they live in a very nice 4BR house already!) will keep my father working to the grave–and that if he passes before she does, we will be left with a mess. I hate to think about that stuff, but sometimes you have to.

By: Miranda

Miranda — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:15:59 +0000

It’s sad to think about this, but it is true that our parents may need our help getting through this tough time. And we should be there for them, since they have probably been there for us. I like the idea of helping them see a fee-based planner, and also the private mortgage idea.